5 Unusual Objects for Your Early Childhood Class

Do you find yourself with items lying around your house/class that are no longer being put to use? Did you buy a new organizing system for your kitchen and you're just not sure what to do with that old lazy susan? If you find yourself in this boat, check out these ideas featured by Scott over at Brick by Brick for inspiration. Putting old items to use in a new way would also provide a great opportunity to teach your kiddos about upcycling!

Lazy Susan

Put your lazy susan to use by creating a spinner! Adhere whatever you want to cover with your kiddos to the top of the lazy susan around the edge (letters, numbers, colors - any topic would work). Then create an arrow to place next to the lazy susan and have your students spin it. Whatever the arrow lands on the student reviews. For example: Letters - you could have the students say the letter out loud, or perhaps write the letter on a piece of paper for practice. The options are endless!

Oil Drip Pan

Use an old oil drip pan to create a magnetic center in your classroom for letter and number recognition review. You'll just need a set of magnetic letters and numbers to get started! You could also use a set of magnetic shapes to create geometric shapes and patterns.

Garlic Press

Add a garlic press to your playdough center for perfect spaghetti! Your kiddos are sure to enjoy using the press to create long strings of playdough.

Plastic Relish Tray (Divided Tray)

Take your old relish or divided tray and turn it into a sorting station! Your kiddos can use the tray to practice sorting, patterning, counting, etc. You could also fill each section of the tray with different art materials (feathers, jewels, colored paper, etc). to set up a collage station for art time.

Plastic Stand-Up Frame (Brochure Holder)

Stand-up frames are perfect for displaying a note to students and/or parents as they walk into class each morning. Even a word or two of encouragement for the day ahead would be cute! You could also pick a student each week and use the frame to display their art work to the class.